Update: I was unfortunately not aware of Shamus Young's severe criticism of Fallout 3 available here to link in the original piece and I regret that. It dovetails rather nicely with what I've written and it's much better executed than my piece. I strongly recommend anyone...

Is hacking really a crime?

Want to know the events leading up to Dead Space 2? Well, look forward to Dead Space Ignition: a motion comic-style arcade game that takes place on a city in space called the Sprawl, where things eventually go hay-wire. In this prologue, you’re not defeating hideous-looking aliens, but rather playing intense hacking mini-games.

The storyline starts off simple enough. You’re an engineer named Franco who seems to have some personal history with a female companion named Sarah. Things are not thoroughly explained, though, as Franco is interrupted to check out a malfunctioning door. When he reaches it, it looks as if it as been sabotaged, but why and by who?

Either way, you have some hacking to do. You’re introduced to the game’s first mini-game called Trace Route. Here, you guide a cursor line through obstacles and walls that are decorated with binary code, while you’re also chased by a few enemy A.I.. If you touch the walls, you slow down, allowing the A.I. to catch up. Other obstacles can reverse your controls, making the mini-game even more challenging to complete. You are also given power-ups that you can only use once, two of which can slow down the enemy A.I. by casting a firewall or a block. The other is a speed boost that can aid you to overcome the A.I. if they are ahead. And make sure you don't you lose the race, if you do, it's game over.

Furthermore, Dead Space Ignition offers four different endings. Whichever path you choose will include Trace Route and two other hacking mini-games, called Hardware Crack and System Override. As one of the rewards for completing the game, you will be given unlocks in the full game, such as a new suit for Isaac Clarke, to wear in Dead Space 2.

So you have hacking, new characters, a motion comic, and unlockable content that can be used in Dead Space 2. What else can be expected? Look for our review when Dead Space Ignition releases on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network this fall.